School of Information Science - Hall of Fame

Focus: Contributed significant
research, theory, and development to a wide array of computer science
topics.

Country: Germany

Era: 1970 to 1989

Michael Rabin studies the theory and application of computer
algorithms. His special interests are computer security and applications of
randomization in computations.

One project involves the use of sophisticated algorithms to
protect computer files and a computer's operating system against unauthorized
intrusion (i.e., against "hackers"). With a doctoral student, D. Tygar (now at
CMU), Professor Rabin invented a new model for computer security and a series
of tools which can be incorporated into existing and future operating systems
to ensure their protection. The system, called ITOSS (Integrated Toolkit for
Operating System Security), has been implemented and is being tested. Work on
extensions, including the development of a user interface, is in progress.

The new technologies of parallel computers and distributed
systems raise important theoretical and practical problems concerning
interprocessor communications and the coordination and synchronization of
distributed computing processes. Professor Rabin has developed an innnovative
algorithm called IDA (Information Dispersal Algorithm) for the dispersal of
information. He is studying the applications of IDA to efficient and
fault-tolerant routing of information in parallel computers and general
networks, and to the storage of information in arrays of disks (RAIDs).

Professor Rabin also continues to work at creating efficient
algorithms for problems in algebra, number theory, data structures, and
combinatorics. In addition to their theoretical interest, many of these
algorithms, including one recently devised for pattern-matching, have
important practical significance. Rabin won the A.M. Turing Award from
the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in 1976.